Project Management

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Introduction

Project management is a critical process in any project. This is because the project management process is the core process. This is because it connects all the other activities and processes in a project together. Project management comprises many activities which can be summarized into five main processes. This includes initiation, planning, execution, monitoring, and closure (Kerzner, 2009).

This Project Management Cycle helps to save time and keep all team players focused. However, modern technology has availed a wide range of templates which take one through the entire process, hence makes the Project Management Cycle more user-friendly despite the level of management one might have.

Project Management Office (PMO) Functions

Governance: The PMO plays an important role in governance by providing decision support for the decision makers, project sponsors, and stakeholders. Performance Management: The performance management function. It integrates the level status of a project, reports and generates the level of the program status to be used during executive reviews. Investigation of specific issues of performance and communication of early signs of troubles in projects (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

Schedule Management: It functions in assisting the program by identifying the project’s level difficulties and integration of this milestones into a single program level plan. This plan is a summary of critical program milestones view. The PMO helps monitor and recommend corrective action and schedule variances (Kerzner, 2009).

Financial Management: Tracking actual costs and predicting future costs while checking an organization’s internal billing and reconciliation procedures. Risk, Issue, and Scope Management: This entails risk management, issue management, and scope management which applies to programs and in individual projects too.

Resource Management: Resource capacity and resource allocation requires to be managed across the program for effective utilization Quality Management: The PMO provides quality management by providing expertise in quality assurance, coordination of quality inspections, process coaching, and quality (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

Communications Management: The PMO creates an overall communication program standards for projects to follow. The PMO also assists the program manager to develop the necessary communications needed to program stakeholders. Supplier Management: The PMO helps the supplier management in monitoring various suppliers providing services to the program  

Improving project estimation accurate

            This is one of the most challenging aspects of any project. Project estimation gets increasingly hard as the project’s uncertainty and complexity. Project estimates are sometimes accurate (Kerzner, 2009).

The following are project estimation techniques that are very effective;

Estimation of a projectcost. Understanding the scope of the project is very important before beginning a project estimation. This helps in accurate estimation of the project. There needs this important before to be an understanding of the scope of the project. A very detailed scope of the project results to a very detailed and accurate project estimate (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

Project Estimation Accuracy. During estimation of a project understanding what stage the project is in is important as it helps determine what level of project estimation accuracy needed.

Project estimation is a process, and the estimate could undergo several stages and development. As the project scope is understood, the project estimation accuracy should also improve.

Project Estimation Techniques

It can be extremely challenging to estimate a project, as a project by definition is unique in nature, often a new product, service or business change. This may include several techniques that are available e.g., expert judgment. Combining different estimation techniques helps improve accuracy (Kerzner, 2009).

Project Execution

The main objective of this is to perform the planned work and approved in the Planning phase by developing the service or good that the project was designed to deliver.

In this stage, the plan and tasks underway are put into action.

Key execution activities are: having team meetings regularly; requests for document change; Capturing variances to plans and schedule’ having regular and appropriate communication with stakeholders; Capturing issues and risks; having a Planning and Project Management Office; and Creating effective teams (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

To create an effective and a successful project team, where all team players work well in unity to meet the project’s objectives, a number of factors are important. Understanding the five stages of team development and how they impact the team is important in order to develop a high performing team (Kerzner, 2009).

Some of the Important factors include; Strong team leadership.A good team needs a strong leader. A good team leader discovers his/her member’s weaknesses and turns them into strengths. He also knows when to step in and keep the team moving (Kerzner, 2009)

Common goals and objectives. It is common that when individuals first come together to form a team, each individual members has his or her own goals and objectives. A team leader should ensure that the team players focus around common objectives and goals. He/she, therefore, ensures this by getting the team members agree on the common goals.

Processes for getting things done (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013). There is need for a team to work together. There must be they should also have a given method to make decisions, manage conflicts, assign tasks and achieve their set goals

Diversity among members. A diverse team includes different races, genders and has no cultural differences. Diversity among team members is essential this helps ensure that members possess the skills and experience required for the management of the tasks they are assigned and achieve their goals. Time to learn about each other. There is need for team players to take time know each other before starting a project (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

Comparison between PMBOK and Agile

PMBOK is Project Management Body of Knowledge.  This system is found to have more substantial frameworks for contract management, scope management among other aspects which arguably less robust in agile. This system limits decision making to project managers, thus makes it difficult to hand over aspects of the management to other departments and to managers. The project manager, therefore, becomes the primary planner, problem solver, decision maker, and human resource manager, among others (Kerzner, 2009)

Agile

Agile is a program more distinct from PMBOK.  This method is more flexible thus makes it able to produce deliverables without for need for substantial reworking changes. Tasks are broken down into smaller stages thus allowing for increased risk reduction through prior testing, assessment, and analysis. Its main drawback is that if it is not fully embraced, it could result in unattainable expectations (Epstein, and Maltzman, 2013).

References

Epstein, D, and Maltzman, R. (2013) Project Workflow Management: A Business Process    Approach. J. Ross Publishing.

Kerzner, R. (2009) Project Management: A Systems Approach to Planning, Scheduling, and         Controlling. John Wiley & Sons.